Going Gold in the West Region!
 
We are getting so excited for THE Girl Scout event of the year where we will honor 60 Girl Scouts who completed their Gold Award Project this past year! Of those 60, there are 3 Gold Award Girl Scouts from the West Region that will be celebrated at Inspire a Girl on April 14 at the Overland Park Convention Center! 

From conservation education to birds of prey awareness and environmental awareness these three young women below have given nearly 250 hours to causes they believed in and improved their community, and the world, overall! 


Samantha Hall,  Manhattan, KS
Troop 7189
Samantha Edwards, Sabetha, KS
Troop 7200,
Kelly Wichmann, Manhattan, KS
Troop 7189

Read about the projects these Girl Scouts chose and how they each took action to improve their communities on our blog at gsksmoblog.org. Then, make plans to meet them and congratulate them in person at Inspire a Girl on April 14! We are happy to announce that we will be providing bus transportation from the Manhattan/Junction City and Topeka areas - stay tuned for more information! 
Spotlight on G.I.R.L. Volunteers Katie Loughmiller & Sara Huelskamp

Katie Loughmiller, Professor.  Sara Huelskamp, student.  Both, Girl Scouts. 

What started out as your typical classroom setting with Katie teaching and Sara learning has become so much more over the past four years!

Sara is a Gold Award Girl Scout from Los Angeles in her senior year at K-State studying construction engineering and Katie happened to be one of the first professors Sara had in her first year at K-State. 

Fast forward two years when Sara found out her Girl Scout neighbor's troop was disbanding. As a Gold Award Girl Scout, she knew how important Girl Scouting is and she volunteered to be a troop leader...while still in college! 

As Girl Scout emails started to roll in, Sara recognized a name, Katie's name. Sara reached out to Katie and found a resource not just in her educational field, but as a Girl Scout volunteer as well.

"We are always looking for ways to encourage girls in STEM areas. My daughter, who is a 1st grade Daisy has always loved attending Engineering Open House and seeing all of the 'cool' things that are on display," Katie said. 

These 'cool things' inspired Katie and Sara to work with the engineering and technical sciences sosority Alpha Omega Epsilon to host hands on STEM activities for for Girl Scouts of all ages at Kansas State University's Department of Engineering's Open House on April 7! This small event will serve as an intro in the engineering world and then encourage attendance at the K-State Society for Women Engineers event on April 21!

We love the big, small world that is Girl Scouting and are appreciative of all that Katie and Sara are doing to encourage the exploration of STEM for Girl Scouts! 

Interested in attending the events mentioned above? See the Upcoming Events & Happenings below for details! 

Do you know a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader) adult volunteer that we should spotlight?! Email prdept@gsksmo.org and let us know!
Upcoming Events & Happenings


Mar. 3
Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors & Ambassadors from the West Region have been hard at work for the past 6 months planning and designing a structure made solely out of Girl Scout Cookie boxes with female design professionals in the community. Their work will culminate with Build Day at Crown Center in Kansas City where they will build their structure. Awards ceremony is at 3:15 pm and People's Choice voting will open following!

Mar. 24

We invite you to join us for another exciting skill-building Girl Scout Day at the Kansas State Capitol on Saturday, March 24! This event will give Girl Scouts an opportunity to rotate skill-building booths as they work toward their Citizenship badge requirements!

Mar. 27


Girl Scout Juniors! Learn about the energy industry, break down misconceptions about STEM career opportunities and engage with female professionals that work at Westar! 

Apr. 3
Tickets go on sale and Cookie Recognition redemption opens! 

Apr. 7
K-State College of Engineering STEM Open House
Hosted by GS volunteers, Katie & Sara & Alpha Omega Epsilon. First come, first serve on patches. Hands on STEM activities for Girl Scouts of all ages!
Fielder Learning Commons; 9:00 am - 2:00 pm. Come wearing your GS uniform or t-shirt and accompanied by an adult for this FREE event! 

Apr. 14
We will honor 3 Gold Award Girl Scouts from the West Region!

Apr. 21
KSU Society of Women Engineers - Girl Scout Day
Girl Scout Daisies and Brownies will learn about electrical circuit properties and create an LED greeting card! 

Apr. 21
Spend the afternoon in the Flint Hills in Manhattan, KS flying through the trees on Wildwood Outdoor Adventure Park's seven zip lines! 

June 10
Save the Date - West Region Volunteer Appreciation Celebration
Service Unit Shout-Out!

Service Unit 704 - Cookie Kick-Off
Co-Service Unit Managers Allison DuLac and Kim Hiller Connell worked with volunteers to organize a Cookie Kick-Off for Girl Scouts in SU704!  With the help of Teen Girl Scouts, they welcomed 60 girls and worked through stations touching on the 5 skills. They also helped stock the shelves of the FIT Closet with their Community Service Project by collecting socks and underwear in all sizes!


West Region Outdoor Committee

Over the past couple months a committee of great volunteers have been meeting to begin identifying needs for outdoor experiences in the West Region of GSKSMO. The purpose of the committee is to not only identify the needs for outdoor experiences but to also assist our Outdoor Experiences staff team in bringing those experiences to region. These opportunities for great outdoor programming will be done through community partnerships and  event/program planning with the committee. 

Please join us in welcoming the following leaders to the committee:

Christine Hackworth SU704
Diana Busey SU701
Holly Hulsopple SU701
Mark Quintana SU701
Rosalyn Carr SU 701
Cathy Atchison SU701  
Shelly Coleman SU707

While these volunteers bring great insight to help identify the needs for outdoor experiences for girls in the West Region we also want to hear from you. Please take a moment to complete the survey to provide information specific to outdoor experiences, support and/or resources you would like to see in the West Region!
In Loving Memory

Once a Girl Scout. Always a Girl Scout! Shirley Sherretts was a beloved lifetime member of the Girl Scout family from Topeka. She was creative, hardworking and innovative in supporting thousands of Girl Scouts build their courage, confidence, and character.

She helped girls grow their business skills serving a a 25+ year Service Unit Product Sales Manager. She encouraged girls to take on new challenges in the outdoors. And, did all those behind the scenes tasks that made activities run so smoothly. There wasn't a thing Shirley would say no to when it came to supporting girls. 

We were honored to work with Shirley, and we will remember her always. We wrap our loving Girl Scout arms around Shirley's sister, Kim, another incredible volunteer and her entire family. Shirley, thank you for your thousands and thousands of hours supporting girls become the leaders of today! Read more about Shirley and leave your remembrance now.


The Girl Scout Difference & GSKSMO Resources

Girl Scouts takes the potential of girls, combines it with robust  s kill-building programming, and adds caring adult mentors and strong female role models. Everything a Girl Scout does centers around STEM, the outdoors, development of life skills, and entrepreneurship,and is designed to meet her where she is now and to grow along with her.
 
STEM 
LIFE  SKILLS 
OUTDOORS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Computer science, engineering, robotics, outdoor STEM & more.  Civic engagement, healthy living, global citizenship, communication skills.  Adventure and skill building, including through camping experiences for all age levels, from the backyard to the backcountry.  The Girl Scout Cookie Program- the largest girl-led business in the world- teaches goal setting, decision making, money management, business ethics and people skills. 
 
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